Ektaa Centre - Press Releases - Serving the southland community with classes, events and activities that promote an awareness and understanding of the arts and culture of India

Serving the southland community with classes, events and activities that promote an awareness and understanding of the arts and culture of India

The Ektaa Center is the first and only center in Southern California for the arts and culture of India. This multi-use space in Irvine presents dance, music, theater, classes, lectures, and film screenings, and specializes in offering afterschool arts education to the many children in public schools that do not have arts programs. Our students gain not only an appreciation of the arts, but also a new respect for cultural diversity, the gift of self-confidence and countless life-long friendships.

The Ektaa Center offers classes seven days a week in the traditional Indian arts, including:

Bharata Natyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu in South India
Kathak, a classical North Indian dance
Bollywood dance
Vocal and instrumental music, including tabla and harmonium
Punjabi and Kannada language
Yoga and meditation
Visual art

The Ektaa Center's instructors include Ramya Harishankar, founder of Irvine's Arpana Dance Company; Nakul Dev Mahajan, “Hollywood's Bollywood Choreographer” whose work has appeared on many television programs including So You Think You Can Dance; and Jhothi Prakash Mistry of the Dhwani Academy of Percussion, founded by the world-famous Abhijit Banerjee.

For over 5,000 years, the classical dance and music traditions of India have served to carry on the community's ethics and values to the next generation. These traditions have aided the people in retaining their identity, heritage and culture. According to the 2000 US Census, there are approximately 100,000 people of Indian origin living in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas. The Center hopes to provide a forum for Indian-Americans and the greater community to learn to understand one another, bridge a gap, communicate and come together while simply appreciating, learning and experiencing the Indian traditional arts.

For more details or information about the Ektaa Center call Harish Murthy at (949) 300-8912